MBOMBELA – National police commissioner, Ms Mangwashi Phiyega said women and children must walk the streets of the country without any fear of being raped, kidnapped or mutilated by criminals.
She said this during the opening of the first-ever family-violence, child-protection and sexual investigations (FCS) conference held at the Ingwenyama Sport and Conference Resort which was attended by 176 units from police stations countrywide. The conference commenced on Monday and ends tomorrow.
“We will create an enabling environment that will allow you to be the best you can be and will do everything possible to ensure that we do away with the scourge of crime against women and children. We want women to live freely and walk the streets without the fear of being raped,” said Phiyega.
Members of the unit were urged to attain zero tolerance for crimes affecting women, children and the disabled.
Speakers came from various departments, including the department of health’s medical examination of sexual abuse, the national prosecuting authority, the department of justice and others.
Topics discussed included criminal record and crime-scheme management, harmful religious practices, victim identification and cellphone investigations, to mention a few.
It was heard that since the formation of the FCS unit in 2010, this conference was the first of its kind to address operational issues affecting the unit and celebrating its successes.
“This is a journey and I’m certain we will empower station commanders and individuals working in this unit,” she explained.
Phiyega also emphasised the importance of the cleanliness of police stations, even its bathrooms as well as green environment to create a friendly atmosphere for the public who visit the stations for help on a daily basis.
She said police duties were to fight social ills and to create a safe environment for the citizens of the country.
She added that crimes against women and children were escalating daily, pointing at the latest incident of a three-year-old whose body parts were found in Siyabuswa and a mentally ill woman who was recently killed by a mob in Ermelo.
“What type of a society are we? We still have a lot of work to do.
“Go out there, engage the community and stakeholders including the commisssion of culture and make a difference in our country,”she said.
It was also heard that the unit had thus far achieved over 36 000 years of convictions for perpetrators, of which 695 had been convicted to life sentences.
Phiyega said it was important for the education department to be involved as well. “Schools must start teaching children life skills, sexual behaviour and rights to assist them to protect themselves against being sexually abused.
“There are also measures in place as we have trained forensic social workers responsible for assisting children in such cases,” added the component head of FCS investigations, Maj Gen MY Botsheleng.
